There was slightly better news from France, where the PMI survey indicated that the private sector contracted at a slower rate in April than before. But Germany’s slowdown seems likely to drag the rest of Europe down with it.

“The problem is the euro zone is the place where we live,” he said. "The difficulty is the euro zone is going to have a second year of recession. It’s very difficult for a country like France to grow when its own environment is weak.”

The PMI survey doesn’t offer much hope of early improvement. Analysts say it indicates that the downturn in the euro zone is intensifying.